Primora: End of the 3rd Age

Vengeance be they name

In the moments following Mason’s & Mullocore’s death, the inhabitants of Fort Redwood became galvanized. Strengthened by their loss in leadership and with their hatred directed against the Horns of Convergence, as well as the Blackheart Queen. Ork & human united and now more determined to foil the Queen’s plans to march her rag-tag giant force through their land.

Two mutual enemies – a vile warlord without honor & a demon witch who wants bring the nightmare of Hell upon mortal soil. Each plays chess with the lives of innocents and each is willing to drown world in blood to get what they want.

The Ulfborion Orks are not about to wilt within the shadows. Their pack will howl and summon a true horde, the likes of which Convergence will scarcely believe. The Valanese Army will learn of his treachery, that he murdered one of their own while a parlay was to be had. It stood as an afront to the honor the proud men of the Dale live & die by.

A leader without honor is not a leader. The response from their order will be swift & blinding….. assuming Lt. Commander Eric Flannigan can survive the coming battle & make his way to the capital.

The soldiers of Fort Redwood are a motley bunch. 45 grizzled Valanese cavalry, a couple of massive Trull hammersmiths, nearly 200 Ulfborion rangers, rogues & berserkers, a powerful druid and his elemental companion, a Jhotunskoll psionicist and her legendary home-town hero Kaya – it’s a menagerie of murder waiting to happen, and despite this, they will be tested well beyond the scope of their previous accomplishments. Thankfully, another reinforcement of cavalry from Fort Driftwood along with some Gryphon riders will lend aid.

Men will die. Friends will fall. Fear will felt by all, but Eric has a plan. It’s direct & uncomplicated; kill the Four Hammers of Rust, the knights that command the army and slay at least half of the giants by drawing them into a tight valley near the ruins of Fort White Birch. There, their size will work against them and with the hurricane obscuring their vision, use gorilla fighting tactics to pick them off, one by one. It won’t be easy, but it’s the best way to remove their advantage.

Once the battle is over and the day won, the captured will be forced to share all they know of their demonic queen and her strategy. A message will be sent up the chain of command that a victory was had in the south and the soldiers of the Forts are still relevant within this war. Perhaps it will inject some optimism into their ranks for one final rally against the demon.

Meanwhile, Convergence and his northern army will march south against the Shadow Pride clan and finish what they started then formulate a strategy against the Broken Claw tribe. Not among them, is the ex-leader of the northern army, Xavian the nether. Scouts will inform Eric that Xavian was seen heading towards Crowsport with just one companion, a woman in caster’s robes.

Kaya has one thing in mind – repay Convergence in kind by killing one of his. Publicly and without quarter. If Xavian intends to kill the Shark God in Crowsport, Kaya will let him start it so she can finish it. Both of them. Then Convergence can have something to be really mad about. If he wants her, let him come for her in the Frozen North.

Aleron intends to slay the unnatural Undine creatures in the area then close the Rift portal near Trullconnan. Once complete, he will also seek to stop the Blackheart Queen and maybe get a little payback against the Death Knights that killed him a couple of months ago.

For the orks, a campaign of scorched earth against anyone and everyone foolish enough to kill one of their pack. You kill one of us, you better kill ALL of us. From the mountains, the plains, the forests & the islands, Ulfborions are going to swarm in a fury of vengeance. They just need someone to lead the way to the next “hunt”.

Supreme Warlord

Valendale has long maintained a policy of keeping the southern tribes in a constant state of conflict to prohibit their unification. It is believed that a unified Staggra under one rule as one nation would create a potential nightmare situation for the Dale’s defense. Over the course of centuries, the Dale has protected itself by sowing seeds of chaos within the tribal territories to keep them warring among themselves. While not something it would admit on a State level and certainly nothing it would be proud of, the royals believed it the safest and cheapest way to maintain safe borders.

Now, it is important to note that the tribesmen always followed an animal motif. Tiger tribes, wolf tribes etc. At the end of the 2nd Age, dozens of powerful Undine creatures seeped into the prime material plane and assumed the forms of the animal-gods these primitive mortals worshipped. So as the war to the North continued against the Frost Giants, those powerful Undine pushed their followers harder to ramp up campaigns of terror against their own.

Enter: Convergence

It is a name he earned as a Millennian gladiator & slave. Initially he was known as Amhuluhk the Massive while living upon the island of Trulconnan. Amhuluhk fought in 20 contests within the Millennian pits before suffering a lethal injury. Instead of being fed to the lions for the enjoyment of the crowds, a rich merchant rushed forward and threw bags of gold coins into the arena. Amhuluhk was recognized as an intelligent combatant, patient and highly efficient. It was said that he never wasted his energy and that each step he took was a calculated maneuver. Most died in a single sweep of his scythe-like sword. He never celebrated nor showed any emotion. He killed like a living machine, cold & without hesitation. Therefore, this merchant saw in Amhuluhk an investment opportunity to create something special. Something potentially legendary. So the Trull was spared and was released into the service of one of Millennia’s most cruel & bloodthirsty crime bosses, Devarik Mulganey – Millennia’s​ most prolific smuggler.

Once healed, the trull was rebuilt into a new vision of horror. From his horns, his armor and his method of dispatching foes, Amhuluhk the Massive became Convergence – Gladiatorial Champion. It took less than 6 months and he would hold the title for a decade, spawning some of the most wild & memorable matchups in Millennian history. Drakes, giants, packs of mutant hounds and reenactments of famous battles – all for the enjoyment of the crowd and for the profit of his master.

While this was going on, Convergence was also tasked with other duties outside of the arena. Extortion, intimidation and murder were also part of his new responsibilities. He did not disappoint.

He gained a new master after a spectacular battle with a cyclops. His new master’s name was Walter McKinney. His old master, Devarik Mulganey made the unfortunate mistake of sending Convergence to run-off a new rival within the gritty criminal underground. The trull mowed through Walter’s men but stopped when the lucky thief noticed the huge behemoth was slowing his charge. Something was amiss. The beast seemed fatigued all of a sudden, so Walter moved in quickly and struck true. The magical stiletto punctured a lung but Walter backed off. He too, wanted his own pet trull and made a deal with him. Walter would spare his life, slay his current master, and forge a path ahead for Convergence to be free, once & for all. All he needed to do was to “work off his debt” to Walter.

More years wore on and the illness that the trull was experiencing was getting worse. Convergence was dying but from what, was not clear. So he turned to an ancient orkish method of physical modification; a formula derived from a fungus that grows near the Moores of Rezzin mixed with other potent chemicals. It is called “Grave Syrup”, a term for the liquidation of a corpse during the decomposition process.

The result of the mixture, is heightened strength, speed & endurance but with a heavy price. Over time, the user barely eats, hardly sleeps and requires more & more of the drug as its effects cause long-term erosion of muscle tissue. This combined with his disease, quickly brought to bare the fact that Convergence was not long for this world.

He was not afraid to die but he did not wish to leave this world before giving something back. Convergence was privy to some of Walter McKinney’s​ secrets. He learned of grim portents written within The Scrolls of Kirith. It was retold to him by an elven slave girl that Convergence saved while repaying some of his debt to Walter.

She warned Convergence that the end days were near. That these Rifts were merely a symptom of a much larger event to come, called a Grand Nexus. With this new found knowledge, the champion of Millennia decided he would become something more, a champion of something greater. So he & the elven girl fled into the night, taking the fiercely loyal subordinates he trained with him. They marched east across the Carboncinder mountains and deep into Staggra.

His legion grew as he cut a swath of destruction all the way to the eastern coast. Men recognized his strength and tactical prowess and flocked to his side. His army numbered only in the hundreds when he destroyed his first Spiritual Guardian, an enormous frog like beast named Slaadolnovock. It nearly killed Convergence and he quickly realized that these monsters required a little more strategy to best than simple brute force.

Three years later and two winning campaigns against two other dominant tribes, his army now ranged in the tens of thousands and he was using more tricks at his disposal. Convergence employed hit & run tactics with the breeding of a faster, smaller but powerful warhorse known as an Amber Steppe. He also combined intense psychological warfare by using propaganda to build an aura of invincibility around him & his men. The myths surrounding his army were a key element to its effectiveness in combat.

Staggran tribes are anything, if not absurdly superstitious. They are fearful of dark magic, demons and so on. Undead fill their bedtime stories of morality told ad nauseum to their young ones. Convergence used this as a tool to bring them to heel. He destroyed their leaders in one on one combat, removing any mythical status attributed to them. He crushed their idols and temples, challenged their gods with blasphemy, and emerged unscathed. He also used tricks he picked up out west. He used smoke pots and cheap but visually imposing magics, which created a story that half his legion were harnessed directly from the Abyss. This was reinforced by having his troops dress accordingly which consisted of horns and animal heads, makeshift claws and teeth. They would howl at the moons, and haunt enemy villages by night; it was as if they had crawled out of the ground, thirsting for blood.

But his campaign is not a selfish one. This is not blood lust like many believe. He is not a cruel torturer with a devil’s soul. Convergence is making good on a personal promise to change how a Nexus works. His goal, was to crush all the Undine within the area of where the event was to happen. This would reduce the combatants involved as well as their levels of power. A Nexus draws Undine to it like a moth to the flame. They would in theory, flock to Staggra to compete but be met by an army dedicated to their destruction.

But there’s even more. Unifying the tribes could also serve a dual purpose in stopping the slave trade that plagues his race. Making Staggra a nation under one rule would slow the Valanese imperialism and block the dwarves of Carboncinder from unfairly, unlawfully depleting the region of its resources. It could finally bring the region closer to peace for it’s own people. That last part would be a gift to the little elven girl that Convergence is never seen without. Their bond is unspoken, but deep. No one is to speak of it for fear of angering the behemoth but all know that she means a great deal more to him than a mere advisor.

With Millennia in full revolt and Valendale struggling against a terrifying enemy to the frozen north, no other nation can be counted on to fight the fate of the prime material plane. A great temple will be built within Staggra to offset the influence of the Temple of Elemental Evil​. But to do so, the Tri-Magi must first strike a deal with Convergence, which is yet another aspect of his strategy. He knows of a dreadful artifact that could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands and currently guards the path leading to it. The Tri-Magi can have, both, the device and also the land rights to build the new temple. But they have to supply the Horde with more weapons to destroy the Undine that will be pouring in soon.

As the power of the multiverse culminates into one focused point within Primora, a Grand Nexus will emerge and change the world forever. It will harken the start of a new age and it’s champion will be granted the will of a god for one singular moment in time. A mighty “wish”. Rarely does anything good come from this power. He has an idea though; something to throw a monkey wrench into the great magical machine.

Convergence will most likely not be alive to see his dream become a reality. He grows sicker by the day and relies on his medicine just to get out of bed. He has made contingencies in how to prepare his leadership council upon his passing. He is now prepared to die.

Kaya's Journal

We’ve finally arrived at Fort Driftwood. Many from my group, it seems, are being pulled in so many directions. Including myself. I feel as though, for as tough as I am on the outside, I am constantly battling following my heart with trying to live right by my group. My main concerns are my pigs and trying desperately to find the weapon that supposedly will defeat the frost giants. But with everyone wanting to do all of these other missions, I feel torn.

I was able to speak, so far, with the Falconeer in the fort. He was able to watch Dinah while we are in the Fort tending to business and gathering goods for our future ventures. It’s good to know Dinah will be protected from harm, as well as people will be protected from being harmed by her. I heard the best person to care for Boris is Ellasina. I will go to her next to interview her and see if she is capable and worthy of caring for my beloved boar.

My heart aches so much about having to leave Boris behind. I’m heartbroken but I know it’s the best thing I can do for him. I’ve had him since he was a piglet and he’s been on many adventures with me, many of them being close calls. Even though I will cry myself to sleep many nights thinking of him, I still believe it’s better he has a place he can finally call home. He doesn’t have to be in harm’s way any longer and I won’t have to worry about him dying beside me in battle. Although he won’t be with my physically, I’ll never stop thinking of him and I will write often and visit every time I have a chance. I’m sure he’ll be devastated at first but after a while he’ll be happy. Perhaps I’ll cut down his tusks and keep them strung around my neck.

The smith at the fort is making me armor with a boar’s head emblem. He is also placing the same emblem on my axe. I’m very excited to see it soon and will wear it proudly.

I’m not sure where we are off to next. Once someone is part of my tribe I often try everything in my power to please them, leaving my own soul ripped apart in pieces. I must explain to them how important finding this weapon is for me. I already took care of the other important matter, which may be slightly more important than finding the giant slaying weapon. But now this is the only thing left. Once it is found, I can rest easy knowing I did what I could to save the north from more devastation. Only then will I be able to truly concentrate on other tasks at hand.

If only the others knew of my internal struggles. I try to be strong for others and myself but who is there for me in the end? Is anyone trying to be strong for me? Perhaps.

Until I learn more from the others on what they all want to do next, I’m not sure on where this will take me.

But, like I said, at least my heart with weigh less knowing Boris will be loved. That’s far more valuable than any amount of crowns.

The Northern Army, Giant Bits Better Left Unmentioned, and Maybe Orcs Aren't So Bad For The Area?

We arrived at the camp of the northern army of Convergence, me, Bastion and Kaya. We left the incriminating items with the rest of the group…and Atiliana so she didn’t blow our cover…ha.

They have giants.

We didn’t leave the bag of giant bits with the rest of the party because Atiliana and Nago said to bring them to sell. AAAND of course we don’t have time to get rid of the bag before they’ve spotted us. Lets just pretend that bad doesn’t exist, buy our supplies, and get out without causing a scene…easy, right?

So we’re talking with the dwarven quartermaster about getting supplies and he’s grilling us about why we’re there. He obviously wasn’t buying our story about being travelers. I was in the process of trying to get our supplies and get out and just be weird travelers when Kaya decided to say that we had found the corpse of a giant, who might be one of theirs, and brought some of him back her for them.

….WHAT!?

This goes back and forth for a little bit whilst I try to recover from shock and Bastion tries not to shit in his armor.

Eventually we move past the bits of mutilated giant bits lying in between us all and then the dwarf thought he recognized Kaya. She’s apparently some legendary adventurer/rift closer.

Who knew?

The dwarf now thinks we’re hunting rifts. OH THANKGOD! We have a way out of this and can explain our presence in Stag-

Kaya says no, and sticks to our original lie before I can confirm his suspicions about why we’re here. WHAT IS GOING ON!

I risk it and cover Kaya’s mouth, she is really tall, by the way, and tell the dwarf that we were lying and that we are, in fact, hunting a rift in the area. Pretty sure he bought it.

Then we get down to buying our supplies.

But wait! Of course he recognizes Bastion too!

Apparently Bastion is some great giant slayer from the northern front AND he killed the killer of one of their giant’s brother…I give up.

Turns out, that was a good thing and the giant gave Bastion a big ol’ golden rat statue that we were FINALLY able to trade for our resources an-

OH GODKAYASAW A GIANTBOAR!!

Now she’s made a bet with the dwarf to go in the pen with the ultra violent giant boar unarmored and unarmed. If she gets the boar to listen to her, she keeps it.

This was supposed to be a simple supply run into the middle of an enemy encampment.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly by this point I guess, the boar basically just lays down for a belly rub as soon as she walks in.

We FINALLY buy two war horses, a light riding horse, and a camel to carry supplies and leave…to be followed by several…lets call them scouts…from the camp. We send Rhiannon (who refused direction to stay with the others to follow Bastion) to tell the rest of the group to set up an ambush at a bridge while we slowly led the scouts towards them. We reached the bridge, crossed it and made it to the tree line and hid while we waited to see if the scouts tried to cross. After about an hour and a half, they were still a no show and we crossed back over the bridge – due to the army of giants, wargs, and howling swarm tribesmen traveling north on the side we had crossed to – and booked it north to make our way towards Elf Fort (I believe it’s also known as Fort Driftwood).

Towards Avenlock Village, or the remains of it anyways, and near the Wayward Inn that we can never seem to get away from, we met up with a party of orcs led by a guy named Greeg. Seemed like kind of a dick, but he was an orc, so what should I expect. They knew of us and our part in their “new land” and we traveled together north for about a day.

It was a pretty intense day. Take a crazy bar brawl. It was like that. All. The. Time. Some of them died!

As an aside, there are A LOT more orcs in the area now. There were several that looked to be picking over one of the forts that is now in ruins, orc children playing with some of the human children in the area, and even some orcs helping human farmers get the land back in order. This is actually the healthiest that I’ve seen this area, and based on my talks with Eric Flannigan, probably the healthiest this area has been in a long time. Maybe this whole orc thing wasn’t as bad of an idea as I originally thought. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have something go our way in this gods forsaken land. Or maybe it just hasn’t bitten us in the ass yet.

We split from the orcs to make quick time north east to get to elf fort, but before we split, Bastion reminded us that he was still a wanted man for deserting the northern army and probably shouldn’t go to the Elf Fort. So Rhiannon (who would not leave “her man”) turned the two of them into a bird to travel to Orc Fort and let Mullocor know about the giants and wargs and tribesmen traveling towards them, give help on how to fight against giants, and to make Rhiannon fly to Elf Fort in 48 hours if no one, probably me, shows up from Elf Fort before then.

The journey from when we left Bastion and Rhiannon to Elf Fort was at a very quick pace and only briefly made a stop because we were assaulted by, and made quick work of, a group of bandits.

Please let Fort Driftwood not be in as bad of shape as the three forts that we’ve actually seen already.

Map of the Eastern Realm

Questions & Answers

Wiffofina & Shalley-Mae Xilfauna

Kaya: Other than the griffin rider, is there any other person who’d be willing and capable to take exceptional care of her beloved boar. Also have they seen any shadier than normal people nosing about or if this place doesn’t see many new people, have there been any people who have visited the pub lately who they didn’t know or know someone who could vouch for them

Wandering up to the tavern, the group sees that it is a two story establishment. The lower level is painted dark purple, black & red while the upper level is painted orange, tan & white. The color combination is an eyesore but more odd is the sign. It has a name & image on one side that differs from the name & image on the other. Inside, it is crowded with hungry, thirsty patrons. The air is loud with conversation but you can still hear the two sisters arguing. One is demanding that the sign outside be changed ON BOTHSIDES to “The Gryphon’s Roost” and the other is adamant both sides of the sign should read “The Crow’s Cup”. Apparently this argument is common enough that the patrons largely ignore them and continue drinking.

After serving you all a complimentary meal on the house (as a welcoming gesture), Wiffofina says big Ursa’Eckhart is a known animal lover & would probably jump at the chance to care for someone’s pet taint-ripper. Shalley-Mae interjects & states that the boar is best given a job to keep it feeling wanted. She suggests speaking with the rangers corps to see if they need a tracker, since boar have such a fantastic sense of smell. Then the two sisters return to arguing about who knows animals better and which sister is more of an idiot.

Corporal Kestra-Lee LeRouge

Kaya: is intrigued with this woman and she visits her to offer a first hand account about rifts, hoping that in return she can tell Kaya something new about any rifts around here that may be helpful in aiding against Convergence.

Kestra is a slim, dark haired woman with short, spiky hair, glasses & yet dressed in Valanese platemail. She can be found in the fire tower, literally sitting on a makeshift chair made out of books. There are several dozen large tomes here in her sunroom.

When asked about Rifts, her eyes widen in unexpected joy. You can tell it is not a frequent occurrence that anyone asks her about her favorite topic then again, she also doesn’t receive many visitors here either.

She hops down from her “throne of knowledge”, as she calls it, and cracks her knuckles. She talks fast. Real fast. You think you hear something about fractures in time & space. Past, present & future possibilities all being intertwined perpetually and that the Dreamsea is the realm of all thought & emotion that reacts concurrently with us and in conjunction with all the mortals of the mid-realm, otherwise known as Primora. The two realms exist as on either side of “The Veil”, which is the term for the invisible fabric separating the two worlds. This fabric can tear when great ejections of magical, Undine energy bubbles over into our world but the cause of these eruptions are not quite known. All we DO know is that the Rifts are a symptom of a much larger problem, called a Nexus event. These events are incredibly dangerous and change our world in a multitude of ways, not always for the better. New creatures are born, some go extinct, the rules of magic are rewritten and entire swaths of land can be changed nearly overnight.

A Nexus exists in no realm. It is its own thing and is not effected by space & time. Within this bubble of anomalous energy, powerful Undine creatures, many that most consider godlike, battle for control of the Nexus. “Winning a Nexus” purportedly grants the champion any wish they desire. Undine are drawn to a Nexus like a moth to a flame so all one need to do is watch for a greater density of Undine creatures within any one location to determine where a Nexus will be appear. Mortals can compete within a Nexus event but there is no record that one has survived. The powers that be are typically far too powerful for any mortal to match up against.

Getting back to Kaya’s original question – Rifts are bizarre gateways into another elemental plane where the physics are completely alien to inhabitants of Primora. They can be closed by finding the point of focus that caused the Rift in the first place. This is called Rift Essence. Sometimes killing the powerful Undine within the Rift can yield this essence but other times it can be simply destroyed without a big fight. Since the essence is comprised entirely of the elemental energy of that plane, using magic of its opposing element is usually enough to collapse the Rift. Care should be taken to not be inside it when it does, lest the champions be trapped upon that plane. Once done, remnants of that Rift Essence can be claimed and used as the champion sees fit, though Kestra suggests that the essence be given to the order of the Tri-Magi Sorcere for safe keeping. Such things if fallen into the wrong hands, can be absolutely lethal.

She then smiles, hops back onto her throne of knowledge with a new tome in hand and bids you good day.

Master Rodolfo Penno

Mason: Hearing that he is privy to some golden opportunities, Kaya approaches him to ask him what type of opportunities were available for her as well as her crew. Perhaps she or a few from the group can achieve some of them while they are on their main mission

Kaya: Information about Convergence, his movements, goals, etc. News from the north. News from Mountain Fort.

The wealthy merchant has fingers full of priceless rings, ears pierced with gold and necklaces that gleam with jewels. He seems starkly out of place here with garishly colored robes, swarthy sun beaten skin and his head wrapped in a blue turban. His accent sounds more foreign than even the elves – not like anything you’ve ever heard before. Though short in stature, he beams with confidence and has a rich laughter that echoes throughout his large shoppe with it’s vaulted ceiling and decorated rafters.

Rodolfo’s store is a wild, cluttered mess of everything a traveler needs and a whole lot you don’t. Some of it junk, some of it odd but mostly utilitarian and fairly priced.

It’s routinely packed with customers, not all fort soldiers either. His two guards are impressive behemoths of human size (you think they’re human anyway), but have the same complexion as their employer… desert people from the Miscan Wastes, you wonder?

To answer your question, Rodolfo says you inquiry about Convergence is better asked to the ENORMOUS giant of a Trull named Lughani, or Big Lug as he’s fondly known as. He grew up with the one known as Convergence. All Rodolfo knows of him is the fear his name causes in sane men.

He shares his thoughts on the mountain fort & of the north: Fort Ravenwillow is reclusive & heavily fortified as well as being nestled within a high mountain. It is the easiest to defend requiring less men due to it’s rumored gnomish technology. Cannons, siege equipment built directly into buttresses, you name it. The only way to take the place would be from within. There are even secret tunnels to get resources in & out far outside the valley. The soldiers there are hardened, humorless men that keep their methods quiet. They have access to the farmer’s of the valley and require nothing from the state or other forts. Unlike most Valanese, they have no cavalry, just infantry & artillery. Those men & women are pure tacticians and rely on their wits to outsmart their foes and crush them with minimal effort.

News of the north is grim. Sovren’Re, the capital city, is a practical ghost town. The royals are hunkered down behind fortifications and the few that live & work within the city, fear the worst. Resources from the northern country have ceased flowing. Everyday more & more bodies are shipped home in boxes. The stalwart Vikings of Jhotenskoll have retreated to the mountains and fight a gorilla campaign to try & retake their captured villages.

Stories tell of a woman with enchanting powers drawing able bodied men away to become her thrall. She whispers sickly sweet promises of survival & freedom from the Frost Giant’s ire. Freedom from the rule of a heartless monarchy. Freedom from personal choice. Rodolfo cannot confirm that any of this is true save for the looks of desperation in the eyes of the Valanese refugees seeking asylum within the southern hills.

As for Xavian & the Northern Horde, he warns you to stay away from the Nether. He used to be a SERIALKILLER on the streets on Crow’s Port. No finesse, no fear – just pure unadulterated rage & violence to slake the voices within his head. Fists as devastating as sledgehammers & so damn fast, he could dodge arrows as if they were moving no faster than a black fly in autumn. Nethers are frightening creatures; cursed at birth and tormented by nightmares. Why Convergence made Xavian his second in command is unknown & bizarre. But no one can doubt that it only adds to the fearsome aura of the horde’s infamy.

Then he says you need to buy something or let the man behind you pay for his bit & bridal.

Lt. Commander Virgil Wolfe

Kaya: asks if there’s new news about the Frost Giants in Kaya’s region.

This is need to be explored in-game. The commander is a key contact within the fort and we should role play this encounter – same goes for Intercessor Kin’Kaiden – hold all questions towards these two for our next session-——————————————————————————————————-

2nd Lieutenant Chilton Rixx

_ Mason: 2nd Lieutenant Chilton Rixx – Explain what we saw/did with the Norther Army and what we knew they going to do before we interacted with them. Any idea what they could be planning now?_

Kaya: Knowing he is very experienced in this region, Kaya approaches his as a fellow warrior and asks him who and what have control of the sections of the region we have not yet explored. Does he know of any weaknesses or are there certain people who’d be interested in trading info and/or goods for info and/or goods we may possess.

He responds to Kaya by saying no one fully controls this area anymore. The War Dog Pack as well as Venom Mouth are no longer a problem thanks to the horde but worries when their Horns will turn on Valendale too. Weaknesses lay internally among their order and one would need spies within their ranks to learn more. There ARE defectors from the horde and he’s heard of a few holed up just across the Valanese border in a place called “Green Orchard”, an abandoned winery 80 clicks northwest of Fort Driftwood. Maybe check there?

As for trading information, he suggests making friends with Atheomarris & her rogues. Secrets are 50% of their business but does not elaborate on what the other half of their business model is.

Looking to Mason, Chilton believes he saw northern horde scouts recently & near Crow’s Port. That it a very bad omen. His guess is that they ARENOT going to Howling Swarm just yet. He suggests you meet with some soldiers at the docks and hear whatever scuttlebutt they have heard recently. Perhaps they’ve seen something?

He also warns you to stay clear of the Wolfpines. He swears he saw 2 men turn into a giant 2headed wolf late one night. But….it could have been the ale playing tricks on his old brain.

Sgt Major Lars Wright

Mason: Status of the Northern Army. Any other important/weird info?

Kaya: asks if he can aid in warning the orcs of impending doom, since he does not believe all of them to be bad. She agrees with him and tells him an asshole is only an asshole if he’s an asshole…has nothing to do with his race.

You find Lars near the armory & chatting with a dwarf in red chain mail & a floppy hat complete with ostrich feather and he is named “Ezeek”. When you approach, the dwarf looks cautiously your way & departs….not making a sound. None one sound. It’s eerie, in fact.

Lars says there is a hurricane coming, despite the gorgeous weather today, and that this is no time for a war. Then again, when is? He says he knows of a shaman within the northern horde that Xavian uses to terrify his underlings since she is reported to be a Lich. Lars isn’t convinced of that though & suspects the woman to be a Carrian sorcerer who joined the horde to somehow free herself from her own curse. Lar’s scouts have seen her weeping near a memorial near here recently.

Lars is also worried that Convergence has spies inside Fort Driftwood. He’s been speaking to “the Lady of Shadows” in hopes she smokes them out before it harms us.

He turns to Kaya and nods. The orks MUST be warned. He suggests speaking with the enchanters about getting a “whispered word” to them, IF they have a scrying device within the Fort Redwood, much like they do at Fort Ravenwillow. If not, then you will have to request to fly there via Gryphon. The riders are good people with adventure in their hearts. Flying there before the hurricane arrive in a few days, is paramount. Speak with the commander and Intercessor of this fort first. Request the aid of the Riders and I’m more than sure you can get to your friends in time. Perhaps even circle the incoming army from high above and see what kind of units they have. If you have at least that tactical advantage going for you, then it will greatly aid in battle planning.

He looks to Kaya – just NO hopping off the Gryphon to kill them all yourself. Leave a few for the rest of us. It gets dull here in the fort most weeks. He smiles then goes about his duties.

Brigadier General Caedmon Aimes

Mason: Best idea to get dwarves to smuggle Cyprian’s through? Or bypass dwarves and get smuggled through some other way?

Sadly, nothing but certain victory or safety so convince the damn dwarves to open their gates & let reinforcements arrive from Cypria. They need to believe Valendale can win! Or at the very least, that there are sufficient forces strong enough to defend the gates while they are opened. Smuggling troops through the mountain is unwise politically and even dangerous during the coming winter months. Though, moving a forces far south & through Broken Claw land is possible but ensuring safe passage past Convergence, Shadow Pride & beyond is rough. Maybe a b-line to the coast to board awaiting Valanese vessels would work? Still means sailing through Drowning Tide pirate waters.

Atheomarri the Huntress

Mason: How much would it cost to “remove” two people from the “army” camp of the giants/wargs/howling swarm?

3,000 crowns a piece, so 6k total & they keep whatever treasure they find. In exchange for this service, they swear to the anonymity of the client and the quiet discretion that their services uphold. This price is non-negotiable but perhaps a deal can be struck regarding a job THEY need done. Something they won’t touch whatsoever. It involves tunnels. Darkness. And Goblins.

Squadron Leader Uhllam the Falconeer

Mason: What is this large mythical beast. Is it a tribal “god.” If so, chance of killing it and making it look like the Nether did it?

Kaya: wonders why she hasn’t asked someone sooner to assist her in learning the ways of the wild. She thought it very important, in this part of her journeying, to ask Uhllam if he could part with any wisdom on hunting and gathering so that she may provide herself and her group a better supply of food during travel.

Uhllam is woodsman, gryphon rider, ranger loner & quirky self afflicted Sylvan elf (Emeran) who talks to birds, mumbles strange limericks in elven quietly under his tongue & might be a little crazy. The fort relies on him greatly to find protein for the humans who eat animal flesh. You find him sinking arrow after arrow perfectly into a distant target dummy while his gryphon named Lummox devours an elk nearby.

Uhllam has indeed seen a massive spiritual guardian in the form of a 60 foot shark swimming off Crow’s Port. It then shifted into the form of a gray bearded sailor and waltzed into the city. Judging by the dock workers that evening, this creature knows them well and they seem to revere it as a deity. Dropping to their knees in supplication.

The wild eyed elf tells you that anything can be killed. Nothing is truly immortal. You just need to study it. Hunt it. Know where it eats, sleeps & shits. Discover its weakness then slowly lure it into a trap. Once there, kill it fast & show no quarter. If asked if he’d help, he’d declare “*A SIXTYFOOTLONGMEGASHARK? FUCK NO*. I may be crazy, but I’m not _stupid_”. Making the Nether look responsible for it is easy. Just ask the Enchantress to sell you some polymorph potions. You’ll have to go spy in Xavian to get his look down though. Good luck with that!

As for training, he turns to Kaya, yes he can train. He must be paid by the week and no less than 25 crowns. He suspects it would take 6 weeks to get you familiarized with woodland survival as well as hunting, trapping & stealth. His lessons are grueling as his students can expect to be on their feet all day and moving over rough terrain. They need to keep up otherwise he boots them from the course. He has no time for clumsy layabouts without a nose for forestry.

Then he’ll ask Nago to please not make eye contact with Lummox. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Gryphon Trainer Ellasina Zylentherra

Kaya: Asks her if she’d be willing to take very good care of Boris. Let her know their history together, hoping to appeal to her love of animals side. Also, Kaya is no stranger to loving the difficulty and dangerous nature of training certain animals. Kaya is most interested in not only ensuring Boris would have someone to care for him but Kaya is also interested in becoming friends, over time, with Ellastina. They could bond over animals forever.

Ellasina is wrestling a young Gryphon into its stall at the time the group meets her. Her platinum blonde & curly hair, a wild mess as she drags the beast by its reigns inside & slams the door shut before it can break out. She laughs victoriously begins to wrap the nasty cut on her bicep where the Gryphon bit her. While beautiful, she is a monument of scars from her profession. Gryphons, you quickly realize, are VERY stubborn beasts not easily dispirited or broken. It’s probably for this reason as well as the joy of flying, that Ellasina loves what she does for a living.

When asks about Boris, she states that he SHOULDNOT go with the ranger corps nor with Ursa. While the big manbear is a gentle giant, the boar needs more astute attention due to his advanced age. The rangers may put Boris accidentally in harm’s way, though she admits he appears tough as nails and more than a match for any of her younger Gryphons. Ellasina gladly volunteers to care for Boris and says she can build a special pen for him large enough to get exercise, protected from predators and that she would visit him in both the morning and the night. She’s familiar with boar and welcomes any challenge it could present besides, Boris looks like he would be “charming” company, then she laughs and points to the Gryphon stalls – unlike these pigheaded chickens over there! She laughs more and says she will come find Kaya later once her shift ends, to go over the arrangement in more detail.

Vesryn Misenmor & Pepper Drakesblood

Kaya: She lets him know her fighting style and the times in which she really needs an extra push in order for him to hopefully concoct some useful potions for her and her new battle boar. Kaya also approaches Pepper in a similar fashion to her husband. She asks is there’s anything better the elf can place on her giant axe than the fire damage she already has on it. Perhaps she can also help with Kaya and Dinah’s armor.

Climbing down a stone spiral staircase into the bowels of the rock at the base of the fort, the group enters a seemingly subterranean cavern that serves as a shoppe for weird & wondrous potions & enchantments. The two magicians are found inspecting a corpse on a table within their laboratory. It is a tribesman and it appears he’s been murdered, judging by the slit throat. They are muttering to themselves in elven about “what this man saw just before he died, if anything and which spell would work best, to discover the culprit”.
When they notice the group, they quickly cover the corpse with a sheet and dismiss the whole thing as nothing “out of the ordinary”. They ask how they can help you then share their price list of goods & services.

there will be a separate post about the shoppes here in Fort Driftwood, so look to that for what you can buy-——————————————————————————————————-

General Gossip

Mason: I’d also like to know the general feeling of the fort-folk, factions (beyond just elves & dwarves), how the factions feel about each other, and general “power level” of each faction (political or otherwise)

Fort Driftwood infuriates you to no end! Strong defenses, grand buildings, plenty of healthy soldiers gorging themselves on food & wine. The people here are strong & confident, unlike the central forts of Redwood, Iron Elm & White Birch. Where were the shared resources? Why did Eric Flannigan have to struggle to survive? How many of his men died to malnutrition, disease & infection? The differences are vast between this and what he suffered. Driftwood acts as an autonomous entity, free of the plagues that robbed many loyal soldiers of their lives.

That said, the atmosphere here is upbeat. Soldiers work hard to keep this fort structurally sound while other soldiers train like dogs. The deafening cries of the gryphons flying overhead startles everyone not used to this area. They are massive and deadly. Splitting the sky in locked formations that make you honestly wonder how they could be defeated. It’s THAT impressive.

The elves & humans mostly stay out of each other’s way. It’s an alliance as old as the Dale itself. The humans are more vocal in their annoyance with elven cuisine & the haughty attitude of the Auran (high/gold elf) militia. The Tribunal of Stars is a coalition from the Lead Forest Nation that heads the militant defense here all the way out here east. The Emeran elves are a part of the tribunal & petitioned the council for aid. Since the Intercessor holds the highest position within the council, his rank is slightly higher than the current commander of Driftwood. Ceding his position over the last year wasn’t easy and the humans pitched quite the fit. But it is what it is and life goes on.

Like most Valanese, their view towards the dwarves of Carboncinder isn’t all rosy. Why aren’t they helping? Valendale is a huge trading partner & ally. By not lending aid, the dwarves are effectively dooming them to extinction. The elves eye roll when asked about it. They assume the dwarves would bow out of the war since they’re viewed as greedy little opportunists not keen on sharing in the bloodletting unless they can profit from it.

Several mutter insults towards Eric Flannigan and his men. They’re seen as cowards & deserters. No one is too loud about it but it is whispered. You also see wanted posters of various Valanese criminals – one of which is Sebastian Hastings: wanted for deserting his post, horse theft… & the murder of two senior officers, one being a noble. A bounty for his capture is set at $7,500 crowns.

You learn that Intercessor Kin’Kaiden has a son who is seriously ill and slowly dying of leprosy. He is not allowed in the fort and is kept in a fortified cabin in the woods, guarded by some rangers. Healing the disease hasn’t worked for some reason and the Intercessor is desperate to find a cure.

You learn that the enchanters are two shadow elves that are married and bicker nonstop, almost as much as the two sisters who own the local tavern. The duality of Driftwood is a palpable tension which is a given what with the odd intermingling of various cultural groups. Despite this, they remain unified against their common foes and train endlessly in preparation for an all out assault.

Lastly, you finally hear about the civil war in Millennia and you are all now convinced that Primora is simply coming apart at the seams.

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Swarms. Why did it have to be swarms...

We got close to the tree and the damn thing EXPLODED with swarms of stirges.

Stirges suck, by the way.

So the swarms attacked and apparently they were being controlled by some woman to the south.

Kaya, her boar, and Bastion charged her while the rest of us tried to fight off the swarms. I ended up with about a dozen attached to me, all sucking my blood, until Atilliana blasted all the swarms, Nago, and me with a massive blast of cold, killing all stirges….and knocking me unconscious…

I got better thanks to Ursa and the controller surrendered.

She gave us a bunch of information about the area, ways across the river, areas to avoid because of monsters, and the fact that the norther Convergence army was moving east…

We convinced her that travelling with us would be in the best interest of her god, looted a little of her cave and then figured out what we wanted to do next.

We decided to have me, Kaya, and Bastion go north, meet the army, buy some horses and supplies and then get out without causing any scenes and continue with our journey.

Giants are HUGE

Riannon came back from scouting the bridge and there was a giant, a couple wargs, and some tribesman. Based on the description Ursa said it was probably Howling Swarm tribe who was very far from home. But he had no idea how the three different groups were working together…or why.

After a further afield scouting mission, Riannon let us know there was a camp of a couple thousand of similar makeup – about a half dozen giants, two dozen wargs, a whole lotta howling swarm tribesman, and a couple of “knights” that didn’t belong and didn’t look Valenese. They’re not Convergence. What are they doing here.

We decided to get ourselves set up for a fight at the bridge. Atilliana had Kaya and the Nago set up to teleport across the river, close to the other side of the bridge, and be able to flank them from the back as they came to attack me and Bastion who were standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking anyone else from getting past us while Mathias and the golem shot at them from behind us and Ursa was left as support.

We decided, since they were enemies of Convergence (we were pretty sure), we might be able to express similar sentiments and be able to pass on by…This did not happen.

We tried talking to the giant…it was tense. Then I overheard him talking to the wargs about attacking us in his native tongue and gave the signal.

Before Atilliana could get her spell off, the Howling Swarm tribeswoman cast a spell and the air around our support group erupted in flame, killing Mathias, and severely damaging Riannon, Atilliana, and the golem. Oh, and a unit of three archers flanking each side of the bridge popped up as well…

Ursa fixed up Atilliana with some magics and then she cast her spell and Kaya went to one group of archers, Nago went to the other and they were to finish them quickly and then proceed to the bridge.

The wargs charged me and Bastion and we held the line while the golem shot his crossbow-arm at the giant and enemy caster. Things were going okay….

Then the giant vaulted over the wargs and us and now flanked Bastion and me with the wargs.

The giant JUMPED over us.

The bridge barely held, but we seemed to be in some trouble until Ursa came forward, attacked the giant from behind and ATEHISFACEOFF after bringing him down to the ground.

Kaya had finished off her archers and Nago (who despite his fearsome visage) was having some trouble with his group. I killed a warg and then charged after the shaman, leaving the other warg to Ursa and Bastion. A third warg had left the bridge and joined the attack against Nago.

After that, the rest of the combat went pretty quick, until Nago let a warg escape, running back to his base camp. Atilliana fired off a few magic bolts at the quickly receding warg and finally managed to bring it down…but not before it had almost reached the camp.

We had to move.

We did a quick loot of the shaman and the giant, got some of the pieces of the giant for casting/alchemical components, got some healing, and realized that some time during the final moments of the fight, the golem had been destroyed.

We knew we didn’t have much time and had to figure out a way to get away from the small army on it’s way in such a way that didn’t leave a trail that the enemy wargs could follow.

Riannon turned most of the surviving party into birds to fly east across the southern branch of the river while Ursa (who turned fully into a bear), Nago, and the boar traveled by foot, mostly by river to hide their sent/tracks.

After about a day of travel, we seemed to be safe enough from that threat. We regrouped and tried to figure out our next course of action.

Maybe we’ll make a stop and chat near that nice looking tree over there…

Narcolepsy & Monster Men

We left the fort, determined to start trying to gain allies for the Valenese among the Shadow Pride before moving on to the Broken Claw, who are hopefully being enticed by diplomatic overtures from the soldiers at the mountain fort, which I hear is nigh impenetrable but allies will still be needed.

We traveled back down the road towards the inn at the crossroads and it was under attack by Venom Mouth…again! Who built an inn way down here where almost no civilized travelers would travel and is WAY too close to cannibals…

Anyways, Venom Mouth tribesman were attacking the inn again, but there was a giant lizard man and a giant bear man fighting them off this time.

I would like to have more information about what happened next…but I apparently had a severe and sudden case of narcolepsy and woke up to the fight being over, us continuing on our way south (I think the bear man – Ursa – was carrying me) and the lizard and bear had joined our continually stranger and stranger group…

In the time we spent travelling together southward we found out more information about the tribes from Ursa and what happened to the Venom Mouth tribe from Nago (the lizard’s name). Apparently the northern army of Convergence’s horde came in, a fight happened, and their leader, an elven nether, killed their giant snake god…

We finally reached the river that flowed eastward and traveled along that until we reached the bridge south. Before we reached the bridge, we found a burned down village with a burning flag with Convergence’s symbol on it. People had been killed and burned to death. Mostly women and children. This was not Convergence’s work, but we didn’t know who was responsible. This was close to the Shadow Pride territory so we took the burnt flag as evidence of the threat of Convergence for the Shadow Pride and continued on to the bridge.

More to come later…Riannon is about to scout the bridge that will get us south across the river into Shadow Pride territory

The Horns of Convergence

The verdant plains of Staggra have been home to cultures that have defied the changing of the ages. Military might and physical strength still remain the ideal for many if not ALL savage tribes that inhabit the region.

For thousands of years, primitive man mocked the other cultures that walled themselves into congested cities that soon drowned in their own filth. For the savages of Staggra, their way of life was freedom, pure & simple. No King’s or taxes, no sewage slopped onto city streets and no laws to throw you in chains. The very idea of becoming like the Valanese to the north, was a repugnant, perverted view on civilization.

But times are soon to change. Their numbers are not what they used to be. The tribes of Staggra have been warring off and on with one another since they first came to this place long ago. Now a new warlord has emerged to crush anyone to foolishly stand in his way. He has been slaughtering tribesmen by the thousands, destroying their totems and icons and murdering their spiritual guardians.

Each tribe has an animal guardian of immense size & magical power. They are seen as living gods wandering the prime material plane and therefore revered by the simple folk.

“Join or Die’

These are the only options offered. Their guardian lay butchered. Their temples burned to ash. Their warriors nothing more than slabs of rotting flesh to feed the crows. They too follow a totem but this one is not an animal. Not in the literal sense.

He is called Convergence and his symbol is three stag skulls. The significance of this is telling. Every other tribe follows a predator guardian. Wolves, sharks, lions & so forth. This symbol is not a predator. It signifies the original banner of the first people of the region and thus, it’s name.

The message is clear: Convergence is an “idea”. A concept intending to unify Staggra under one banner, one king and one god.

The Horns of Convergence comprise a variety of humanoid races; large, small, feral and far. They employ an ever changing strategy and enjoy sowing seeds of misinformation while using intimidation to minimize the need for killing. They say the Horde has dozens of languages, a hundred faiths, countless factions but only one mission: to make Staggra a nation.

The reasons behind this are as yet, unknown but some details are available. Convergence is an enormous Trull that rides an armored dire rhinoceros and wields a scythe-like great sword that glows a cool blue at night. They say he can raise the dead. They say he eats the hearts of champions. They say he is actually the “Wild Hunt” disguised as a mortal. Rumors have expanded into a pervasive myth that has carried throughout the countryside and stolen the courage of native Staggrans.

The Horns have 6 divisions to their army: The Northern Guard and the Hearthland Guard. The Salt Watch & Eastern Front. The Western Front & the MooresWatch. All trained and focused on a specific task to meet the ends of the Horse’s overall goal…..

The story so far...

…Was set upon by savages and captured through duplicitous means. Thought it best to prove my worth as an aide rather than let them sell me, or kill and eat me. The savages prove to be the remains of the War Dog Pack. Their leader is an ogre magi who had his hands, feet and one of his eyes removed by Convergence, the brutal warlord who’s uniting many of the tribes further south.

Soon, several other (very strange) travelers were captured by the ogre magi’s gnoll warriors and brought in. A catfolk, a nether, a trull, and some undead creature. I may be able to use them to aide in my escape.

The ogre ordered a human girl to be sacrificed to one of the newcomers, the undead. I tried to stop the sacrifice, tried to reason with the creature, but he was a savage monster. More savage than the beings who i was now a prisoner of. There was no way to save the girl, but I tried to kill her quickly, so that she could not be tortured by the beast. He did something to me, cast some spell, prevented me from giving her an easy death and forced me to give her to him. Around that time, something happened in the main room and chaos had erupted. I dropped the undead beast to his death and ran back to the main chamber to see what had happened.
The captives had escaped! The nether was running across the ceiling, the catfolk was fighting for her life, and a drow woman had come in and was causing even more chaos. I tried to get to where they kept my weapons and armor, but the nether lured most of the tribe in that direction. I picked up a fallen tribesman’s long sword and waited for an opportunity.
The catfolk and the drow escaped up a hole in the ceiling and fought off the ogre and many of the other tribesman, the nether had been killed. Several kobolds near me led me out a different tunnel and we escaped.

After escaping the tunnel complex, the kobolds were killed when I managed to meet up with the rest of those that had fled, plus more newcomers. This time a wooden golem with a crossbow for an arm and a small lizardkin.

….Exhausted from the escape, and possibly drugged, I unfortunately do not remember what happened in the next chunk of time.

The next thing I did remember was that we had arrived at an Valanese fort, the lizardkin had disappeared and a young female wizard had joined our merry bad, and the soldiers of the fort were in dire straits. They had little to no food, had suffered from an outbreak of sickness that claimed many of their comrades, had no contact with any of the other forts or Valendale, and expected no reinforcements. They aided us and we agreed to help with a pest problem.
We hunted for the source of the problem and found a cave entrance. A quick scout around found a second entrance and some raptors. After we dispatched them we set up a fire near that entrance with the intention of smoking them out the main entrance where we were set to ambush anything that came running out.
I set the rest of the party up where they would be most useful for the ambush and we quickly dispatched the few raptors that came running and the brood-mother (who was enormous).
We went back to the fort to tell of our success and wait for the massive fire that seemed to keep going inside the caves to die down. We later learned that that the cave was being used to hoard stolen black powder and other equipment from the fort by a traitor.
We also found a ring that, so far, seems to make me immortal.

After talking with the captain of the fort we decided to try to connect with the closest fort, see why communications had ceased, and most likely set the signal tower alight to signal any remaining forts to the danger and Valendale itself to alert them to danger in the south.

On our way the other fort, we were beset upon by a Venom Mouth hunting tribe. We quickly dispatched them with superior Valenese battle tactics and took one hostage to question. We found a map leading to something dark and dangerous, but at a location that was unknown to us. From the hostage we learned that there was still a traitor at the fort.
We sent the second in command back to the fort with the drow to investigate the traitor. Little did I know how bad of a decision that was.

I must have come down with some debilitating mustache disease because I have no recollection of the following few days.

From what I gather from my travelling companions, we arrived at the inn at a crossroads and it was under siege by more Venom Mouth tribesmen. Some people from the inn were putting up a good fight, and with our help, they were quickly cleared.
Unfortunately, the next events are quite vague. We seem to have not really made any friends with the other people at the inn. I hired a “sell sword” (assassin) to scout the main Venom Mouth village. We waited for him to come back, still didn’t make any friends (but at least seemed to make no enemies). Once Neville came back and gave us the rough numbers of the village and we decided to go north to scout the fort, that I believe we were pretty sure was infested with more Venom Mouth warriors.
Before we left, a travelling merchant arrived at the fort and we didn’t ask for any information or purchase any supplies. We also didn’t ask any of the other people at the inn to come with us to assault the fort because we assumed that the …7(?) of us, plus Neville that the golem hired, would be enough to assault a fort manned by many times our number.
Again, I was suffering from a severe case of some rare mustache disease.
We chose to not travel up the road to avoid detection, and instead followed the river most of the way and then cut through the forest. Along the way, we came across many women and children refugees of a village that Convergence had attacked. We, again, asked no questions about anything, like what Convergence was like, where he was last seen, or what his army was like.
We also heard a caravan of Venom Mouth on the road leaving the fort and didn’t investigate, get a sense of their numbers, or possibly set up an ambush. We let them go to conserve our strength for the fort.
As far as I can tell, we went in with no real plan through the west gate and I came to when we were almost in the center of the fort and in the process of getting surrounded by the enemy.

We managed to take out most of the Venom Mouth in the main area, but not before they finished off some of the remaining fort goers….and Steg. He went out like the soldier he was. The Venom Mouth warriors began to man the Scorpions and began firing them at us. I got clipped trying to back up Steg before he was taken down.
Somehow the signal fire was lit (I found out later it was a fey creature who had decided to assist us and snuck in lit the signal fire and then escaped again) and my goal was to keep that fire lit as long as possible.
I was surrounded by a dosen savage dogs and many Venom Mouth warriors backed up by some archers. I focused on defense while my allies fired scorpion bolts into the group. Before long, they were overtaken, but managed to rally and Atilliana saved my life by killing those surrounding me with a blast of cold.
After some more fighting, I noticed that a building looked to be on fire and ready to explode, I fought out of the group that was surrounding me and dove for cover before the building exploded, unfortunately killing Neville. The signal tower crumbled and the fort was set ablaze.

We fled back to the original fort we set out from, but was assaulted by a group of orcs and an ogre. Making quick work of them, we took their leader hostage back to the fort.

A discussion ensued, a deal was struck with the orc, and the Valenese would leave the fort in the hands of the orc, who would ‘join’ Convergence and give information to the Valenese at the fort in the mountains while our group went south to try to bring some of the tribes in as allies against Convergence.